If the 1,000 point intra day stock market crash of yesterday has got you throwing up in the toilet, do I have good news for you? Besides for the fact that it is Friday (you have less than one business day to endure), in the long run you may wish to consider less drastic measures for feeling better. Like attending a summer squash camp -- or, sending your kids to one. I have been asked many times about camps for both juniors and adults, so I did a little homework. Here is the rundown on a selection of camps to the best of my knowledge, in order of distance from New York, closest to farthest (all of the links are temporarily at the top right of this site) -
If you live here and do not wish to travel far, then check out Chris Walker's camps at the NYSC in White Plains. He has a great team of coaches who give lessons and camps for both juniors and adults. Chris is a phenomenal squash player as well as coach. On occasion in his career, Chris has beaten many of the best players the game has ever produced. He is the real deal and anyone would be privileged to get his advice and attention on the court for a few days. In fact, if your kid is left handed this would be a good option (as, so is Chris).
The top squash universities also run camps, namely Trinity, Yale, and Princeton (not sure if Harvard does). The college coaches run the programs for the most part, but Princeton has brought in England's Mike Johnson. Gareth Webber at Yale also has brought in the best, in the form of John White and Neil Harvey. They have adult camps too. If you want to train really hard, I suspect this would be a good option. The Yale guys are professional, experienced and are a very strong coaching team. The Trinity camp in Hartford is run by Paul Assaiante who needs no introduction. You'll learn a thing or two at this camp. There is a reason Trinity is unbeaten for over a decade.
If you are prepared to take your kids a bit further, then you have a bunch more options. Williams has an 'English style' camp with many of the current and former British pros as guest coaches, e.g. Nick Matthew, Lee Beachill and Peter Barker. It is run by Dave Pearson who is apparently one of the best in the business. He has coached a few world champion players (most notably, Peter Nicol) as well as championship teams. This camp should be awesome. If you want your kids to learn how to play a disciplined and deep game of squash, then send them there.
If you want a junior player to learn how to outthink his or her opponents, then consider the camp at Amherst run by Jonathan Power. If you play squash you would have heard of him by now, he is one of the most talented players the game has ever seen, maybe the most talented. No doubt your kid will come back with holds and angles and thought processes that you won't even believe are true.
If you want your junior to learn about mental strength and consistency, then consider the camp near Boston run by long time world champ Peter Nicol. Or if your junior is left-handed, this would be good as Peter is also a left-handed player and is a great coach. He imparts simple concepts which are extremely effective and very easy to follow.
Finally, if you (or your kids) want to learn how to beat your opponent in the front of the court with a fast paced 'Egyptian style' attacking game then consider going all the way to Mark Talbott's alma mater in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Tim Bacon, a sports scientist and head coach at Smith, runs the show. He is great and totally into the science behind squash. He'll teach you all about mental preparation, exercise advice, diet, training techniques, as well as break down your swing in slow motion and compare it to the ideal (you will find this really interesting). And Tim is supported by, amongst others, 2 top Egyptian pros, namely Karim Darwish, recent world number one, and his wife Engy Kheirallah. Engy's highest WISPA ranking is 12, but if there was a women's coaching ladder I am sure she would be number 1. She communicates her thoughts extremely well, and is very perceptive in identifying weaknesses in someone's game and correcting them. If you have daughters and want them to learn from a female player, this would be a great camp to send them to. Of course, Darwish is no slouch either. He has one of the cleanest ball strikes I've ever seen. If you want to learn how to hit a ball well, he is a great one to imitate. This camp is in deepest, darkest Pennsylvania, but I went there last year and had a great time, learned loads, and was extremely satisfied with the whole experience. The few times I was on court with Karim were a particular highlight. It was well worth the effort of getting there.
If you don't think a summer camp would be beneficial and you would prefer to just take your once a week lesson from your club pro, that is fine too, but getting immersed in the game with a group of similarly minded individuals is a great way to improve, get fitter and smarter, and take your mind off the stock market. I mean seriously, many people (perhaps some of you) pay for their dogs to get trained, or exercised, or go to doggie-yoga. There are even sheep herding courses you can send your dog to, which would be a really useful skill for, you know, a Chihuahua in New York. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, all I am saying is, consider not paying money to get your poodle into the latest Latin doggie dance class, and rather send your kids (and perhaps yourself) to a squash camp this summer. You'll be really glad you did.
If you live here and do not wish to travel far, then check out Chris Walker's camps at the NYSC in White Plains. He has a great team of coaches who give lessons and camps for both juniors and adults. Chris is a phenomenal squash player as well as coach. On occasion in his career, Chris has beaten many of the best players the game has ever produced. He is the real deal and anyone would be privileged to get his advice and attention on the court for a few days. In fact, if your kid is left handed this would be a good option (as, so is Chris).
The top squash universities also run camps, namely Trinity, Yale, and Princeton (not sure if Harvard does). The college coaches run the programs for the most part, but Princeton has brought in England's Mike Johnson. Gareth Webber at Yale also has brought in the best, in the form of John White and Neil Harvey. They have adult camps too. If you want to train really hard, I suspect this would be a good option. The Yale guys are professional, experienced and are a very strong coaching team. The Trinity camp in Hartford is run by Paul Assaiante who needs no introduction. You'll learn a thing or two at this camp. There is a reason Trinity is unbeaten for over a decade.
If you are prepared to take your kids a bit further, then you have a bunch more options. Williams has an 'English style' camp with many of the current and former British pros as guest coaches, e.g. Nick Matthew, Lee Beachill and Peter Barker. It is run by Dave Pearson who is apparently one of the best in the business. He has coached a few world champion players (most notably, Peter Nicol) as well as championship teams. This camp should be awesome. If you want your kids to learn how to play a disciplined and deep game of squash, then send them there.
If you want a junior player to learn how to outthink his or her opponents, then consider the camp at Amherst run by Jonathan Power. If you play squash you would have heard of him by now, he is one of the most talented players the game has ever seen, maybe the most talented. No doubt your kid will come back with holds and angles and thought processes that you won't even believe are true.
If you want your junior to learn about mental strength and consistency, then consider the camp near Boston run by long time world champ Peter Nicol. Or if your junior is left-handed, this would be good as Peter is also a left-handed player and is a great coach. He imparts simple concepts which are extremely effective and very easy to follow.
Finally, if you (or your kids) want to learn how to beat your opponent in the front of the court with a fast paced 'Egyptian style' attacking game then consider going all the way to Mark Talbott's alma mater in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Tim Bacon, a sports scientist and head coach at Smith, runs the show. He is great and totally into the science behind squash. He'll teach you all about mental preparation, exercise advice, diet, training techniques, as well as break down your swing in slow motion and compare it to the ideal (you will find this really interesting). And Tim is supported by, amongst others, 2 top Egyptian pros, namely Karim Darwish, recent world number one, and his wife Engy Kheirallah. Engy's highest WISPA ranking is 12, but if there was a women's coaching ladder I am sure she would be number 1. She communicates her thoughts extremely well, and is very perceptive in identifying weaknesses in someone's game and correcting them. If you have daughters and want them to learn from a female player, this would be a great camp to send them to. Of course, Darwish is no slouch either. He has one of the cleanest ball strikes I've ever seen. If you want to learn how to hit a ball well, he is a great one to imitate. This camp is in deepest, darkest Pennsylvania, but I went there last year and had a great time, learned loads, and was extremely satisfied with the whole experience. The few times I was on court with Karim were a particular highlight. It was well worth the effort of getting there.
If you don't think a summer camp would be beneficial and you would prefer to just take your once a week lesson from your club pro, that is fine too, but getting immersed in the game with a group of similarly minded individuals is a great way to improve, get fitter and smarter, and take your mind off the stock market. I mean seriously, many people (perhaps some of you) pay for their dogs to get trained, or exercised, or go to doggie-yoga. There are even sheep herding courses you can send your dog to, which would be a really useful skill for, you know, a Chihuahua in New York. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, all I am saying is, consider not paying money to get your poodle into the latest Latin doggie dance class, and rather send your kids (and perhaps yourself) to a squash camp this summer. You'll be really glad you did.
Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com
-----
MSRA note:
For adult camps - check out www.msra.net where we will be continuing to post a list of camps - right now check out ROME squash camp!
No comments:
Post a Comment